Hitting the Streets (Sam)

”Really? That’s the fifth darn complaint this month! What does that boy think she’s doin’? What in tarnation is goin’ through his thick skull?”

When Elaine was upset, her accent shone through; it wasn’t something she could help, even after thirty years of talking. And boy, was her accent shining through now! She realized this, but was flustered to stop cursing under her breath. They go easy on heroes, you know, when they commit smaller crimes. What’s a few loitering complaints compared to them saving the world? Sure, it technically wasn’t ethical, but it was worth it in the long run. The general public would understand when these guys stopped them from being mugged or killed by this cities ridiculous amount of supervillains. So yeah, they’re given a little leeway, laws be damned, because they can’t save anyone in handcuffs!

But there is a line! There’s only so much goodwill for a certain person, and when they have a whole freaking stack of complaints against this one guy … she had to step in. Obviously, it was time. It wasn’t her choice, of course. If it was up to her, the complaints could fuck right off and let the guy live his peace. He’s living in a dumpster for Adlay’s sake, why the hell would you call the cops on him?! But unfortunately, it wasn’t up to her, this order came from way up top. Apparently, the mayor himself saw him there and thought it gave the city a bad name to have people living in dumpsters. Yeah, right. More like he realizes he can’t charge rent on trash cans and doesn’t want people living for free in his city. Corrupt bastard.

She didn’t like the mayor.

But he was the mayor, and that means she had to follow orders. And that’s how she found herself here, staring at the dumpster just barely concealed inside an alley. And the fact that it was actually off the beaten track only irritated her more. She was going to have a few choice words with the mayor when she done with this. She loved being a cop, but it was dirty tasks like this for crooked politicians that had her shaking her head at the establishment. If she didn’t require food, and water, and like, the ability to pay for rent, she’d quit and fight crime full time. Alas, she wasn’t quite ready to bunk with this guy in the dumpster, and so she raised her fist. She had to be careful (both because she didn’t want to dent this dudes home and also because trash slime, ew) and pounded on the side of the green-tinted bin.

”This is Officer Sayomi, climb on out of there, honey.”

By all accounts, this … Sam was a good guy, so hopefully he was commendable to going with her. If he wasn’t … well, that’s what the handcuffs on her belt and the gun in her hand was for.

It wasn't the events of the day that had Sam tired, no...it wasn't stopping those three burly men in the alleyway from mugging that woman, it wasn't helping that man get out of his burning car after the man crashed it, and it most certainly was not from taking down that large mutant meta who was causing havoc in the park. No...Sam was drained from that danged kid who had stolen his wallet and had made him run around the city trying to get it back. Somehow the kid had been particularly agile and had managed to avoid and dodge all of Sam's attempts to get it back. By the end of it, it had been three hour chase and was only ended when Sam had managed to chase the kid down to a dead end. It had taken up most of his energy for the day and forced him to head back home early to get some rest. He could've still done some hero work, he had some energy left, but he didn't want to push himself today. He just need a short break from it all.

It was definitely a takeout night. It was food he tried to avoid, he much rather use his small battery powered oven to cook a cheap meal, but after the events of today he just didn't have the energy for it. It was always an odd thing to order food to a dumpster, most found it to be counter productive, but the Chinese food delivery guy had learned to accept it after the seventh order. The first two times the delivery guy had refused to give Sam the food, but on the third trip he had nearly gotten mugged, but Sam came in at the last moment to save him. They managed to form a friendship following that and Sam was always sure to tip him well for the food, better than the other delivery guys. After a brief talk with the delivery guy Sam ducked back into his dumpster and leaned against the cloth covered walls.

He was half-way through the first container of food when he started to get even sleepier. He let out a soft yawn and rubbed one of his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of it. Slowly he closed his eyes, letting the sleep take him. He didn't even care that the food container was still resting in his lap. Sleep just felt so good right now and he didn't want anything to interrupt it. He just needed this time to-

Bang bang bang!

Someone was knocking on the door. It was probably some pranksters. Ding dong ditchers or the flaming poo bag trick. There was a small temptation to go and address them, but Sam was too tired to be bothered with that. He shifted slightly in the dumpster, patting the ground to try and find his pillow, but couldn't. Instead he just closed his eyes tighter as he waited for the obvious prankers to leave. It was a slow process for him to realize that he was not in a house nor the fact that pranksters would prank a dumpster or even know there was someone in here. In fact, only a few people knew he lived in this dumpster or rather...only few people who actually cared to visit.

Letting out a heavy breath he looked at the lid of the dumpster and slowly stood up, pressing the lid open and looking out to see a cop standing there. He still had some rice on his cheek and his hair was mess, but he didn't mind too much. He just looked at her with a tired expression and then yawned. "Oh...hold on one moment." Before she could reply he'd sink back down into the bin and grab two items before coming back up. He held outstretched in his hands a soda and a fortune cookie. "Do you want something to eat? Welcome to my home." He let out another yawn, smiling sleepily at the cop woman. He was pretty sure this is what people did when strangers arrived at their house. Fed them and then helped them out or something? He wasn't sure, he didn't have guests often enough to know. While Sam did know a few cops he didn't think he had met this one. She did look familiar, but beyond that he had no idea who she was. He tilted his head at her. "Can I help you with something?"

”Oh, honey.”

God, he was still just a kid. Her anger instantly mounted against the stupid mayor. Why the hell do you call the cops on a kid like that? Seriously, the hell is his problem. And now- god, he was so nice, and sweet. Elaine couldn’t bear to put him in handcuffs, he was offering to share his food for christs sake! This kid was just a sweetheart. Still, Elaine had a job to do- and she was going to do it as gently as possible, though it went against every ethic she had. He was just a kid trying to get by, she wasn’t going to punish or berate him for that. Shit, if she was in his situation she probably wouldn’t be doing as well. She liked her creature comforts.

”Nah, honey, I’m afraid I can’t. Tell you what, step outta there nice ‘n easy and I’ll take you out to dinner myself.”

She failed to mention the not-so-brief pit stop they'd be forced to make downtown as she booked, processed, warned, and released him. She had no intention of doing so either. Telling a possible criminal they were going to a police station was rule number 1 of what not do in a situation such as this. She didn’t think Sam would do something like that, but she didn’t Jamie the Ass would either. It wasn’t his official nickname, but ever since he slipped through Elaine’s fingers and shot her in the chest she’s been calling him that, purely in the privacy of her head, though. Her superiors tended to frown on derogatory nicknames. She sighed again. Sam wasn’t Jamie the Ass, he deserved the truth.

”Truth is, darlin’, I’ve received a few complaints. About you, and your livin’ situations. People sayin’ it ain’ right, and well, honey, I’ve got a job. You’d be really helpin’ a girl out if you’d come with me downtown. What do you say sweety?”

For a moment Sam didn't really know how to reply to the officer. He just sort of stood there in the dumpster, looking at her with a confused expression on his face. He knew that it was illegal for people to board up in dumpsters, use them as shelters and whatnot, but he never thought he'd actually be caught, let alone arrested for it. It still seemed unfair, after all, he did do a lot of hero work for the city and it seemed as though that would've been more than suitable for rent. There was no helping it though, he probably could try and make a getaway, but he'd only try that if they wanted to keep him locked up for more than a week. You can't help people from behind bars.

Letting out another small yawn, Sam nodded at her. "One second please." He slowly went back down into the dumpster, the lid closing above of him. Down in his base he grabbed his sword, put on his favorite jacket, and searched through his bag of Chinese food, deciding to take the egg roll with him. After he had his stuff he opened up a portal beneath him, the connecting point outside, right behind where the officer had been standing, and went out. He tapped her shoulder and motioned to her car with his head. "Ready? I'm all set to go." He closed the portals and rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you have any idea how long I am gonna be down there? Not sure if any strings could get pulled, but I would prefer not being there for too long." A small, tired smile grew on his face. "I have some work I need to do around the city."

At that, he would turn and start heading to the car, provided he wasn't stopped by Elaine. He'd give a small shrug of his shoulders and shake his head as he went over. "Oh, and you don't need to worry about getting me dinner. I already had mine, but if you want to stop for yourself I can wait in the car." He quickly nodded at her, now giving her a polite smile. Nothing he had said so far had been said with any hostility or passive aggressiveness, more so with a tired and accepting tone. Unless previously stopped he stood by the police door, waiting for her to come over and open it up. There was a temptation to just use another portal again, but he figured it would've been better to let her do it. He had done that once before and nearly got tazed for it. He had no intention of repeating that situation again. As he waited for her, he suddenly stood a bit upright, having forgotten something important. "Ah! Oh yeah, sorry." He extended a hand towards the officer. "The name is Samuel Grayson, it's nice to meet ya, Officer."

He can- oh man, seeing him disappear was one thing, that just made her stomach turn when she thought about all the germs and general ickiness that must be in that dumpster. But then he reappeared, tapping Elaine on the shoulder, causing her to jump and spin around in midair, gun already pulled and cocked ready to shoot the damn guy in his effing head! Irritation and amusement warred with equal measure across her face, but she fought the overwhelming urge to react, holstering the gun with nary a murderous glare nor a laugh (she really wanted to give him both). But that wouldn’t be professional and would destroy what authority she might have. You never know with metas; they are very unpredictable and could decide to turn at any moment if you let them.

”Right.” He took her hand, her fingers slim and feminine beneath the leather glove. ”My name’s Officer Sayomi, but uh … you can call me Elaine.” For a long second, she stared at him, her green eyes devouring his features. There was a kindness to him, and yet he possessed exorbitant amount of Willpower. And that’s something Elaine greatly respected. Slowly, grudgingly, she let go of his hand, still staring at him with the same intense look. Then her gaze broke and she opened the door for him. There were no handcuffs on him, which was a blatant breach of policy, but come on. The guy can open portals. All handcuffs would do was irritate him.

The car started with the sweet purr she was used to by now and they smoothly pulled out into traffic, and as they waited in the wall-to-wall traffic that was typical of downtown New York, she glanced in the mirror at her prisoner. Or, well- guest. She’d be damned if she was going to arrest him. He was too nice and polite and- well, she’d punch the Mayor outta his seat before she arrests this kid. Besides, he’s too pretty to go to jail … her eyes wandered over the hem of his neck and what she could only assume was abs underneath his shirt and nearly purred to herself. She wasn’t going to do anything, oh no … at least not while in uniform. But a girl can look. From his chest, her eyes wandered down to the hilt of the sword visible. If it was anyone else, she’d be worried … but Samuel didn’t seem the kind to attack someone from behind. And besides, even if he did, she doubted he’d have the strength to hurt her.

”So, Samuel …” They had been sitting in traffic for about five minutes by this point with nothing but silence between the two of them. Curiosity had been gnawing at her, and finally, as they waited yet again for the light to change, she let it spill forth. ”... how’d you discover your powers?” That wasn’t really the question she wanted answer, but it was a start, and from there … well, from there they could build.

Had been quiet for the most part, at least since entering the car. He just quietly looked out the window and let out a slight yawn, unaware that he was being feasted upon by hungry eyes. Even if he had made eye contact there was a strong chance he wouldn't have taken notice of it, his mother always said he was thickheaded when he was a kid. Evidently he was the prize several of his classmates sought after, but he had never picked up their hints. While working at the circus he had also apparently gotten some extra business from the clients, as well as a few of the other workers. He never really took notice of any of it, his mind was often in other places. That's not to say he never had feelings for anyone or never noticed, he was just someone who...well, it took it him time to notice the signals.

When his name was called he looked up, having broken his thought chain. He had been thinking of personal matters, things relating to a strange message he had gotten recently. Now wasn't the time for that. He looked into the mirror into the eyes of his captor. He gave a small smile and nodded at her. "Oh! My powers?" He leaned back into his chair and thought for a few moments, letting out a small hum. "Well! I got it back while I was working at a circus. My family doesn't have a whole lot of money, so from a young age I picked up a job at a traveling circus and sent the money I earned back home." He tilted his head back and forth a bit, thinking a bit harder about how he exactly got the power. For a moment a slight grimace came to his face, a bad memory touching his head. He let out a slight sigh and went on. "I-uh...well! I was doing a test on the high-wire one day, working on one of the acts and there was an accident. The safety net below snapped and just the sudden shock and stress of that got me and after a few more steps on the high-wire I tripped and started to fall. I would've been dead, but when I opened my eyes I was on the ground, a portal behind me and a portal above from where I was falling." He looked back to Elaine and shrugged. "And that's when I got the powers." He gave another nod to her, finishing his tale.

He sat forward a bit, stretching his back a bit and looking a bit closer at her. "What about you? How did you get involved with the force?" He let out a slight laugh, it was exhausted, but it was still in good humor. "No offense, you don't seem like a cop. Most cops put cuffs on me and read me that whole speech thing before putting me in a car. Is this some sort of prank thing or something?" He let out another laugh, leaning back and putting up his hands. "Not doubting you, this is just a very...different experience from what I am used to." He rubbed the back of his head, his smile turning sheepish. "I honestly I hope I didn't offend ya, just curious as to how you got involved."